The former Israel Defense Forces officer claimed that Israeli policy in the West Bank caused terror levels to “drop to zero,” but that Gaza had been allowed to thrive.

A “negligence of the military side,” he said “has [sic] meant that while in the West Bank we took care to tend to the lawn, in Gaza, since we didn’t, thorns had grown into tree trunks, and, in the end, we’ll have to go in there with bulldozers,” Galant said.

Whether the people of Gaza feel they have been “neglected” by Israel’s “military side” is another question. In the Israeli assault on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009 – Operation Cast Lead – up to 1,400 Palestinians were killed, 5,000 injured, and billions of dollars of infrastructure damage and numerous incidents of IDF attacks on civilian facilities.

Since then, Gaza has been unable to re-build in part due to an aggressive sanctions regime imposed by Israel which bans most imports and causes immense human suffering. The conclusions of a September U.N. report claimed the blockade is illegal. It has subjected Gazans to collective punishment in “flagrant contravention of international human rights and humanitarian law,” it said.

According to one of the U.N. special rapporteurs, about one third of Gaza’s arable land and 85 percent of its fishing waters are totally or partially inaccessible due to Israeli military measures.

A report of the Secretary General to the U.N. Security Council in April reported that Gazan civilians are attacked by Israeli forces while in Gaza’s so-called “buffer zone,” about 300 metros from the Gaza fence. “In 2010,” said the report, “40 boys and 4 girls were allegedly injured by Israeli fire in or near the buffer zone. Of those, 26 boys, some as young as 13, were shot while collecting gravel within 800 metres of the fence. In cases where sworn affidavits were taken, 19 children were shot in the leg, 2 in the arm and 1 child was shot in the head.”

Major General Galant appears not to have considered whether intense military and economic subjugation may have more to do with the growth of what he calls “thorns [growing] into tree trunks.”

It is all a game. Gaza has a lot of water and Israel has little. Off Shore has lots of Natural gas fields and Israel has none. It is clear that Israel has wasted the water supply and they need to invade other lands to get water. The West Bank has the Jordan river and a high water table.. I suspect that Israel will attempt to move its border to the Latavi river 1/2 the way up Lebanon but I do not think the combat starved IDF can field combat Experienced soldier and they know what happened last time they invaded Lebanon. The real problem for Israeli is they can defeat Lebanon but like the past they will suffer many killed as they occupy. Gaza has little arms so they are at the mercy of Israel. Israel has little mercy. West bank has the IDF protecting the illegal settlers.
Israel has to get new water and the natural gas is a plus so they will do what they have always done which is steal neighbors land and they cry they do not like us.

Very good find. Important that the world understands what Israel plans for the Palestinians. Even as nations like Canada are striking military cooperation agreements with apartheid Israel. Is this how the world rewards Israel's facist tendencies? What is going on here?

What this means is that the Chosen People(tm) are frustrated over not being able to invade Iran in November as they had planned. So, they go to Plan B, attack Gaza and slaughter as many women and children as possible, it's a good substitute fix when you can't get the real thing.

Andrewp111: You forget that by the Peace treaty there is a sizable USA military force int eh Sinai. Unlike Israel the USA Military is combat tested. The IDF has not had a real battle since 1973 and they lost that one badly. The 2006 disaster in Lebanon can hardly be considered a military operation. Shooting old arab woman on the golan heights is not a military operation.

So If Israel can steal land they always have but they understand that they really are a form of peter sellers in being there. The military operation of the IDF is very questionable and the ability of the USA to set up and save Israel if they make another major blunder has to be raised. History has always saw the Israel defeated so they might consider that before they continue on their present insanity. There has never been a time in history the the Israeli were upper dog except for short bursts and many of those times are a real question with no real proof .